Elkhorn woman was among two killed after police chase

Dawn Marie Pfister, 34, of Elkhorn, was killed Feb. 7 by gunfire after a high-speed police chase on Highway 212 in Eden Prairie, Minn. Details about the shooting are sparse, but Pfister and the man she was with in the car, Matthew Vincent Serbus, 36, both had warrants pending in Minnesota, though officials there won't say why the warrants were issued. File photo

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — Family members say the Elkhorn woman killed in an officer-involved shooting on a major highway in Eden Prairie was a mother of two, while court records show the man she was with had a lengthy police record.

Dawn Marie Pfister, 34, and Matthew Vincent Serbus, 36, were killed Friday on Highway 212. Both died of multiple gunshot wounds after leading police on a chase that reached speeds of up to 90 mph during the morning rush hour.

Few details have been released about the shooting or what prompted authorities to fire their weapons. The case is being investigated and four officers — a State Patrol trooper, two Chaska police officers and one Carver County sheriff's deputy — have been placed on standard administrative leave.

Bridget Johnson, Pfister's stepmother, said Pfister was from Elkhorn, Wis., and has two children, ages 12 and 9. Johnson described Pfister as a "free spirit and an old soul," who loved music, dancing and her family.

Police records show Pfister was arrested in 2013 on drug-related charges, and arrest warrants in Olmsted County were pending for both Pfister and Serbus. Officials would not say when or why the warrants were issued.

Serbus, who once lived in St. Paul, had a lengthy criminal record including theft, burglary and drug-related cases. In 2006, a third-degree murder charge against Serbus was dropped in connection with the death of a 29-year-old woman who died of an overdose after Serbus and the woman had bought and used heroin and crack cocaine.